Thomas' Army
by Friedrickson2
Summary: Humanised characters. 1940. The Sodor Home Guard and their misadventures while preparing for the Nazi tyrants. Inspiration taken from 'Dad's Army' mostly.
1. Introductions

_Sodor, June 1940_

Britain is at war with Nazi Germany, whose air force, the Luftwaffe, is bombing all major towns and cities of Britain, from Belfast to Edinburgh, from Sheffield to Brighton, from Cardiff to London. Even the (relatively minor) Island of Sodor was not safe from the bombs of the Nazi menace.

But a brave group of men and women from Sodor were determined to stop the threat to British freedom and were ready to fight back as the first line of defence should the Germans invade Britain.

That is, if they could figure out how to use a rifle properly.

* * *

"Is Thomas B. Billinton here?" called out a bald stout man of sixty in uniform.

"Yes sir!" replied a short black-haired, blue-eyed 17 year-old in Home Guard uniform. Come February, he would be turning 18.

"Edward Pettigrew?"

"Here sir!" replied a forty-four year old man of medium height.

"Henry Green?"

A thirty year-old with a pink pointed nose answered in the positive.

"Gordon Gresley?"

"I am here sir!" called out a big twenty-eight year old with royal blue eyes and a baritone voice.

"James Hughes?"

"Ready for orders sir!" cried out a twenty-six year old red-haired man.

"Percy Avonside?"

"I'm here, Sir!" replied a cheery, green-eyed, sandy-haired boy of 16.

"Toby Holden?"

"I'm here sir," answered a short man of fifty with greying brown hair.

"Montague Brunel?"

"Private Montague Brunel reporting for duty, sir!" replied a twenty-two year old young man with black hair and Brunswick green eyes with a Welsh accent.

"Donald and Douglas Sinclair?"

"Aye sorr, weer here!" called out two forty year-old black-irised, black-haired identically looking Scottish brothers with the thickest Scottish accents known to man.

"Oliver Collett?"

"Sir, yes sir!" replied a young man with a Cornish accent and bronze-coloured hair.

"Emily Stirling?"

"Yes, sir!" called out a girl of 17 with braided black hair.

"Good. You're all here," said the stout man. "Now listen. All of you are unable to be drafted into the Army, for age reasons…." He looked at Thomas, Edward, Percy, Toby and Emily, "Health reasons…" He looked at Henry, Duck and Oliver…."Or for other reasons altogether." This last part was a bit more angry in tone, and aimed his sights at James, Gordon, Donald and Douglas.

"So, for whatever reasons, you cannot be in the Army, the RAF or the Navy. But you can become part of the Home Guard based here on Sodor. I, as you know, will be in charge of this platoon of brave souls, and anything you do whilst on duty, I will hold you responsible for it. So no mess-ups. That goes triple for you four." He pointed again at James, Gordon and the Scottish twins.

"You twelve will be joined by the drivers of the Skarloey Railway, Lord Norramby's younger brother, Terrence and Bertie. Take this seriously, or else I'll have your heads."

The twelve Home Guard volunteers widened their eyes and gulped. They knew better than to anger Bertram Topham Hatt, director of the North Western Railway.

"You are Sodor's first line of defence against the Huns! You are defending this Island from the enemies on Mainland Europe-scratch that, you are defending _Britain_ herself from invaders!"

"Hurrah!" called out the twelve volunteers.

"Very well. You're all dismissed for the day. The first training session takes place tomorrow, on Saturday. That is all," said Topham Hatt, the Colonel in charge of this ragtag group. The twelve volunteers then saluted and marched off in single-file.

They parted ways at the station. Thomas and Edward waited for the local taking them from Tidmouth to Wellsworth, where they lived. Gordon, Henry, James and Percy all lived in Tidmouth, while Toby lived in Ffarquhar and Thomas and Edward lived in Wellsworth.

* * *

At last the engine arrived, a red L&Y Class 25 2-6-0 with Fowler tender pulling four LBSCR Stroudley 4-wheeled coaches painted orange with white stripes and lining. The two volunteers entered and sat down. Edward gave the guard his and Thomas's tickets and while waiting for the train to start began to read a book. Thomas simply looked out of the window.  
They were on track 2, second from the left. On track 3 was a Furness Railway K2 'Larger Seagull' 4-4-0 painted blue with red stripes. It was pulling a small goods train-four grey vans purchased from the LMS filled with fruit followed by a GWR 'toad'. On platform 1 was a strange engine, just painted wartime black with the word 'North Western' on its tender in gold and maroon lining, that looked to be a cross between a GNR C1 and an LNER A1 Pacific, pulling a passenger train of four LNER Gresley suburban coaches painted pine green with cream window surrounds. Platform 4, a blue and red-striped GNR A1 Pacific with a Fowler tender was pulling out with a train of three Maunsell coaches bought from the Southern Railway in 1933. These coaches were painted maroon with custard window surrounds and a gold stripe where the two colours met.

At last, the guard blew his whistle and the train started off. Throughout the journey (which didn't take very long) Thomas watched the scenery go by.

Eventually they stopped at Wellsworth Station, which had four through lines, three of which had platforms. Thomas and Edward got off the train and began walking to their home, which was close to the station.

Eventually, they had reached the gate of the house. It was modest, with three bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen, a dining-room and a sitting-room. Edward was glad that his investment into the railway before he married had paid off in the house-it meant finally getting out of the shack he had spent his childhood in.

"How are you two?" called a voice from the door. Edward smiled. "We're good, dear," he replied. "I'm good, Aunt Molly," said Thomas, still filled with enthusiasm about being part of the Home Guard-first line of defence against Nazi invasion and tyranny.

"That's nice," said Molly, a woman of thirty-six with black hair that had a blond streak, a custard dress and a nice smile. Edward walked up to her and they both embraced, causing Thomas to look away.

"We should stop, he's getting quite embarrassed," said Edward quietly. She did as he suggested, and the three walked into the house. "Are you boys hungry?" she called. "I am if you are," said Edward. He never demanded anything, which was something that convinced Molly he was perfect-apart from the fact he never smoked, he only drank on rare occasions (and even then, he made sure to eat first), he never gambled, he was charitable, he loved to help around the house and he was great with kids.

She sighed to herself. They had no children of their own, but in a way, they did have a son in the form of Thomas. When war was declared in September, she tried hard not to cry-her own brother had died in the trenches in 1914, and both she and Edward were worried in case he would be drafted. Luckily, he had no intention of lying about his age and joining, and his 18th birthday was in February, so they had some time.

She looked at her husband. He was still reading his book. Thomas was upstairs, doing silly marches and pretending to be a sergeant. Edward smirked to himself. He found Thomas' impersonations of army officers to be hilarious.

But he knew, better than anyone else, that this war was going to be as serious as the last war. Churchill had no intention of peace with Germany, and Herr Hitler would break any peace treaty with Britain within a week of signing it.

* * *

 **AN: My second Thomas fanfic, but my first humanised one. I hope you like it. I'm aiming for a mix between** _ **The Book Thief**_ **and** _ **Dad's Army**_ **in terms of the tone.**

 **The reason it's Edward/Molly is because I couldn't think of anybody else, so apologies if hate that ship with your life, or prefer Edward/Henry (or James/Molly).**

 **The next few chapters will focus mostly on the characters' backgrounds.**

 **Review, favourite, share and follow! Constructive criticism and ideas for future chapters are encouraged!**


	2. Donald and Douglas Sinclair

Donald and Douglas Sinclair, members of the eponymous Scottish Clan, were born in Springburn, Glasgow, on July 1, 1899, to a railway engineer who worked for the Caledonian Railway at St. Rollox, and the daughter of an older worker there. They were identical and inseparable since birth, with a love for practical jokes, their home country and wit. Often their jokes revolved around switching identities and pretending to be one another.

However, while they gained a reputation for being a pair of jokers, Mr. William Pickersgill, the CME of the Caledonian Railway during its final years, saw potential in them, so took them in as apprentice drivers and engineers. They were very hardworking and took their job seriously and performed well above expectations, even offering to take the high-risk, high-importance trains during the war.

Of course, in 1917, they both turned 18, and thus became eligible for service. However, they had to undergo an exam under the supervision of a General in case of misidentification, and it wasn't until December 1917 that they were finally drafted, due to delays.

Either way, they chose to join the Royal Navy, and joined the crew of HMS _King George V_ in February 1918, but they never saw combat, and in 1919 they left the Navy and returned to work on the Caledonian Railway.

* * *

It was at this point they were both assigned as drivers to two Caledonian Railway Class 812 0-6-0 tender engines, numbered 4000 and was love at first sight, and Donald and Douglas handled them beautifully. It was said that the engines only worked properly with either twin, and when the Caledonian Railway was absorbed into the London Midland and Scotland Railway in 1923, Pickersgill made sure to keep them assigned to those two engines. By this time, they had started to show their love for Scotland by wearing scarves with Sinclair Tartan pattern.

In August 1920, the Twins took a two-week holiday to Ireland. What exactly happened or what they did there, nobody really knows for sure, though according to a member of the IRA who later joined the Free State Army, they met Michael Collins and allegedly blew up a Black-and-Tan truck, along with Collins' bike (in their defence, it was filled with guns and could've blown up at any time).

In 1932, the Twins were fired from their occupations due to a need to cut costs, owing to the Great Depression. Donald and Douglas didn't mind though-they were now free to head off to newer pastures.

In 1934, they arrived on the Wild Nor' Wester at Tidmouth Station, looking for work. They found it within a month at the Crovan's Gate Engine Works, fixing engines and often even improving some of the engines-when a Furness Railway K2 entered the Works in 1935, they modified the cab, impressing the General Manager, Bertram Topham Hatt, who promoted them both to head engineers.

Sadly for the Twins, this good impression with Topham Hatt did not save them from severe punishment when they 'accidentally' thought his car was an old piece of junk, took the whole thing apart, and sold the parts to the Army in November 1939, with the paint scraped off.

As a result of this, their wages were halved and they were given two weeks in prison total. Bertram had spoken to Lord Norramby about them, and thus the two were exempt from the Army when they began looking for recruits. They _were_ eligible for the Sodor Home Guard, and they eagerly joined as Corporals, only to find to their horror, their Colonel was Topham Hatt. To this day, they regret dismantling his car.

* * *

 **AN: At last, we learn about two of our recruits-Donald and Douglas Sinclair.**

 **Like Donald and Douglas's BR numbers 57646 and 57647, the numbers for the 812s my Twins drive are fictional.**

 **Also, if you have complaints about the Ireland part, I haven't a clue why I mentioned that.**


	3. Oliver Collett and Toby Holden

Oliver Isambard Collett was no relation to the Great Western's CME. His surname was a complete coincidence, as was his birthday, 10th September 1916, in St Austell, Cornwall, at the height of the Great War. His father, Oliver George Collett, born in 1868, was a builder and sculptor, and over the years had made enough money from his trade to be able to live comfortably.

The younger Oliver proved to be intelligent enough to end up in Truro, and after an incident involving some engines on the Main Line, began to be praised as brave by some older students. This, unsurprisingly, went to his head, and he became a bit conceited. He was brought back down to Earth after he fell down a well whilst on a school trip, placing himself in the hospital for three months and causing him to end up with a damaged knee. It was very painful for him to move his leg and bend his knee, which practically prevented him from participating in most sports and the prospect of recruitment.

* * *

However, he was able to redeem himself in his schoolmates' eyes when he badly beat the local bully, S.C. Ruffy, in a fist-fight which he avoided punishment for due to it being in self-defence. It was in Truro that he gained an interest in photographs, especially ones of railways and beaches.

After leaving Truro in 1935, Oliver went off and apprenticed at a photographer's studio for two years. At the age of twenty-two now, Oliver found that he had nowhere else to go really. He decided to go off and set up shop on Sodor, partly because of a holiday there in 1933, where the island had greatly captured his attention-it was beautiful, there were railways and the last known Furness Railway K2!

In 1938, he opened his photography studio at Arlesburgh, where it quickly became successful, as people in the local area usually had to travel to the studio at Vicarstown for photographs. Oliver enjoyed his life on the Island.

However, when war was declared, he was visited by a man from the Ministry of Defence, who asked him if he could help with the war effort by photographing the coast and the sea, in case German ships or submarines were spotted. Realising he didn't have much of a choice in the matter (and that this was finally an opportunity to be of use to his country), he obliged.

Oliver also made the decision to join the Home Guard on Sodor when it was formed, in the aftermath of the German invasion of Western Europe. He already knew Donald and Douglas Sinclair, and quickly became friends with 'Duck' Brunel. He was soon given the rank of Private (like most of the Home Guard volunteers), and when not running his studio or with the Guard, would go out and take pictures, either looking for enemy vessels or for local families.

* * *

Toby Holden was born in Wellsworth Hospital in 1891, but spent most of his childhood in East Anglia. As a young lad, he was fascinated by the steam trams the Great Eastern used on the Wisbech & Upwell Tramway, especially the Class C53s, which his father, John, drove.

Toby didn't have many friends growing up, the exception being Henrietta Brown, his neighbour. She had reddish-brown hair and her father was the guard for Toby's father.

Once they reached their late teenage years, it didn't take long for them to develop a romantic interest in one another. However, Toby was drafted into the army in 1915, as the Great War began to get worse.

Although having spent most of his life in East Anglia, he found himself drafted into the Sodor Regiment under Lord Norramby. He served on the Western Front for the entire war, making his way up to the rank of Sergeant, and when the war was ended on the 11th of November, 1918, he found himself shipped back to East Anglia, where he got back to Henrietta.

The two then began seeing each other again, and in February 1921, Toby proposed to Henrietta. She accepted, and they married two months later. Their first child, Elsie, was born on January 12, 1922, and in November later that year, their second child, Tobias Henry, was born.

After marrying, the couple moved to Sodor, where Toby found work at Ffarquhar Station as a porter. He worked hard, and would often do overtime to earn a bit of extra money. But he always found time to spend with his family.

His hard work was soon rewarded, and in 1934 he became the stationmaster at Ffarquhar. He became good friends with Mr Topham Hatt, and his son Charles. Toby made a good impression on many people, mostly because of his work ethic, his friendliness, his good family life, and his competence.

In September 1939, when war was declared, Toby was one of those who saw fit to campaign for a Home Guard to be set up, which it was when the Nazis began invading Western Europe in May 1940. He joined under his old rank of Sergeant, where he made sure to help in training and drills.

* * *

 **And here we learn the backstories of two members of the Home Guard-Oliver Collett and Toby Holden.**

 **And the Truro referred to is Truro school, a public school in Truro, Cornwall. Public schools in Britain, for the American readers, are not like American public schools. They are more like schools for the upper-middle and upper-class kids. Eton College is an example of a British public school.**


	4. Logs

"Alright, so what do we do today, sir?" asked Private Thomas Billinton to Mr Topham Hatt. Hatt looked at the young boy.

"What we are going to do is we're going to learn how to use a rifle correctly," said Topham Hatt. Thomas smiled in his boyish way. Then, Private Montague Brunel's hand shot up.

"What is it, Private Brunel, what is it?" asked Colonel Hatt. "Well, sir, not to be cheeky, sir, but we don't have any rifles," said Private Brunel. Hatt sighed.

"Fine then. We'll make our own. Remember, men, and woman, we are British! We are resourceful!"

"I have some logs in the back garden of my house, sir," said Henry enthusiastically. "They've been there since March, and it's still good, sir." Hatt looked at him for a few seconds, with nobody daring to speak.

"Good work, Private Green! We'll use it and carve our own wooden rifles. Private Gresley, you and Private Billinton will go to Private Green's house in Tidmouth to get the wood! Corporals Sinclair and Sinclair will carve them into rifles with Staff Sergeant Pettigrew, and Private Hughes will paint them so that they look like rifles. Are there any questions?"

One hand went up. "How do we know that they will know what proper rifles look like?" asked Private Skarloey Jennings, the holder of the title 'Oldest resident of Sodor', having been born in 1865 and starting work as a driver on the Skarloey Railway in 1885, at the age of 20. Hatt sighed, again.

"We will know, Private Jennings, because we have among us at least four men who served in the Great War. I was of age, but I didn't join because…well, my doctor had forbidden me to fight," said Mr Hatt, quickly glancing down at his belly, his comment causing one or two stifled laughs. There was a reason why he was nicknamed 'The Fat Director' and it was not unjustified. He did have a taste for buns and cakes. Donald and Douglas knew better than to mention that they never really saw combat.

"Head off now. I trust one of you two knows where Private Green lives, correct?"

"I do, sir," said Gordon. "Of course you do," muttered Henry, "you live next door to me."

"Good to know. Now, off you go Privates Billinton and Gresley!"

* * *

The two young men saluted and went off to Tidmouth-they were currently in a field near Knapford. Gordon glanced down at the young Volunteer marching next to him with some contempt-the Army wouldn't recruit him, he's too small and weak, he thought. Then again, if the war gets worse anybody would be dragged in.

Additionally, the two had a bit of a peculiar relationship. A few years ago, Thomas had played a rather cruel (but still hilarious) practical joke on Gordon, who later got his own back on the little boy by locking him in an empty brake coach, taking out the A1, coupling it to said brake coach and taking it, and Thomas, on a trip from Tidmouth to Wellsworth at 70 miles an hour. It was this incident that angered Topham Hatt to the point of asking Lord Norramby to keep Gordon from being recruited in the beginning of the war. He was, however, impressed with Gordon's skill at driving an engine with no fireman. Or training, for that matter.

"I want to make something clear, little Thomas," said Gordon once they had reached the path to Knapford Station (the small one where the Branchline to Ffarquhar started, not the big one). "What is it? Will you be driving the engine today? Oh goody!" said Thomas in a bright and chipper voice which Gordon knew was sarcastic.

"Simple," said Gordon as he grabbed the boy by the collar and lifted him up off the ground and to his own eye level. "If you play another joke on me again, you'll be dead by the end of this war, and it won't be by the Germans! Understand me?" The tone was menacing, and sounded like a promise more than a threat.

Thomas nodded, and gulped. Gordon was more than a match for him. Heck, he'd need at least four people to get a physical match for Gordon.

At the station, they began to wait for the next train. "It should be here any minute now, little Thomas," said Gordon as he peered over the edge to his left. Thomas briefly considered pushing him over the edge, but decided against it. He'd probably be sent off to the real Army, or Gordon might come back and make good on his promise.

At last, a train arrived- the Furness K2, pulling three GER Holden 6-a-side 4-wheeled coaches painted pine green with cream windows. The only problem was that it was heading _from_ Tidmouth, to Vicarstown.

* * *

"God dammit," muttered Gordon under his breath, as he continued to peer over the edge for a train. It eventually came-the A1 with Fowler tender arrived, pulling a local from Barrow-in-Furness. The train was five of the Gresley suburban coaches painted pine green with cream surrounds. The A1 had just been painted black with 'North Western' on its tender, like the weird hybrid engine.

Gordon hurried and bought two tickets to the end of the Main Line at Tidmouth. They went on the third coach, and five minutes later, they were off. As this train was only stopping at the bigger Knapford station before Tidmouth, they didn't have that long to wait before they felt the train going slower and eventually stopping.

They got out, got on the platform, headed for the exit and walked to Henry's house.

They arrived there twenty minutes later. Gordon walked to the gate with a triumphant feeling inside of him. Which was promptly crushed into tiny little pieces by Thomas.

"How do we get in? The fence is seven feet tall, and you're six foot four, I'm five foot six. Henry only has the one key, and he only gives it to his parents, Edward, or his fiancée, and he didn't give it to you, so how the hell do we get in?" he asked in a criticising tone.

Gordon stopped in his tracks and turned around to face the younger boy. Instead of making good on his promise, he simply walked forward and placed one hand on the wall, and his other hand on his chin. He didn't speak for a full ninety-nine seconds, the whole time Thomas was looking at him strangely.

"We'll climb the fence!" he finally said, proud of his idea. Thomas looked at him.

"I'll do it first!" Gordon said as he beckoned Thomas to come with him to the fence.

"Right, now I'll start from the ground, and try and grip on the fence. Your assistance will be unnecessary, little Thomas. Just stand there and do nothing, alright?"

Thomas did so, wondering about how thick Gordon's skull was while he was attempting to climb the fence.

"Right….come on, come on….don't help me, little Thomas, I can do it myself…ah…come on…..nearly there…..I'm doing it, I'm doing it….." He then slipped and fell back to the ground, landing on his back, in Henry's lily patch.

* * *

"I can't do it," he murmured in a defeated tone. He got up, to see Thomas had gone slightly pale. "What is it, boy?" asked Gordon, before he looked down and saw eight of Henry's lilies crushed. He went extremely pale. Henry loved his flowers, and despite being a bit of a weak constitution, would kill anybody who damaged his flowers, regardless of how big or strong they were.

"Why does Henry have his fence so high?" asked Thomas. Gordon raised his head to look at him, then got up to look at the fence, scratching his head whilst doing so. "I've known him all my life, and I still don't understand why. Apparently, he did it so that it would harder for burglars and thieves, and to protect his garden at the back."

"Well, how are we going to get the wood?" asked Thomas. Gordon turned to him with an evil grin on his face. "I think I know how," he said.

And so, thirty seconds later, Thomas Billinton found himself on the other side of the fence, on the path, rubbing his bruised elbow, muttering foul language whilst thinking of a way to get back at Gordon.

"I hope you're at the shed by now, little Thomas!" called out Gordon. Thomas groaned and got himself up, then walked towards the shed. Henry was right-there were lots of logs neatly piled up. By the looks of their length, they could get 4 Lee-Enfield replicas out of each log.

This also meant that they were quite heavy, and when Thomas took one log from the top of a pile, he found it to be a great struggle to get it off the pile, and an even greater struggle to carry to the fence for Gordon.

"Oh, God! Oh, God, it's heavy!" he moaned. He was unaware of James's and Percy's mothers meeting next door with the Tidmouth stationmaster's wife for tea, and all three hearing him moaning and saying "How long will this be?" and "I need to keep this wood in my hands!" and other things that sound funny when you can't see what someone is doing. Naturally, they all thought something very different from the truth and very concerned.

Finally, after three arduous minutes, the first log was over the fence, and Thomas went off to get some more. He was very pleased with himself-one log down, twenty-nine more logs to go!

It took him about forty-five minutes to get the rest of the logs out onto Gordon's side of the fence-well, if you take away twenty minutes of Gordon explaining to a policeman why Thomas was moaning and speaking about wood and gripping behind a 7-foot fence, and another five were Thomas rested.

Thomas managed to find a wooden box for himself to stand on, and he used this to get himself back over the fence to where Gordon and the logs were. Gordon was looking very pleased.

"Well done, little Thomas, you've done well," he said. Thomas agreed, and they both stared at the logs with smiles. Then, they both hit a problem.

"How the hell are we going to get these back to Knapford?" they both cried, before moaning and just putting their hands to their faces. It was at this moment too, that Henry chose to walk up to the house, having been sent to check on the two.

"Well hello there, Thomas, and Gordon," he said. "I'm sorry about the key-there's one right underneath the mat there, in front of the door." Gordon and Thomas both groaned, then froze, as they saw Henry walk over to the fence.

"Run?" asked Gordon. "I go to Wellsworth, you go to Maron" replied Thomas, and the two ran off as fast as they could just as Henry saw what had happened to his beloved lilies.

* * *

 **Sorry for not updating! I hope this makes up for it!**

 **Reviews are welcome, if you like it you are free to favourite it, ideas are welcome and will be taken into consideration, and I hope to put up another chapter soon.**


	5. Best Friends and Conversations

It was evening now, and Thomas and Gordon were still (wisely) hiding from Henry, and Mr Topham Hatt had decided to end the training for the day to search for them both, and to calm down Henry. He had let them decided amongst themselves who did what, and eventually Edward and Emily stayed with Henry to calm him down and to get him to forget about murder, Percy, Toby, Brunel, Oliver and Terence searched for Thomas in Wellsworth, and James and the Scottish Twins went off to look for Gordon.

"Thomas! Thomas! Thoooooooomaaaaaaaassss!" called out Percy. Thomas was hiding in a shed, and could hear his friend. He wanted to come out, but he was scared in case Henry was out there too. Percy called out again. "Oh, where O where is Thomas? Where has Thomas gone?"

Thomas groaned. Percy had some (read: _some_ ) talent with his voice, but Edward, Henry, Duck, the twins, and Emily were better. And having not found his friend, Percy decided to guess where his friend was.

"Are you….behind the wall in front of me?" asked Percy. No response.

"Inside that house over there?" Still nothing.

"I know-you're inside that shed in the stationmaster's garden!" said Percy excitedly. Thomas realised that Percy wouldn't give up, and so he responded.

"Is Henry there?" he asked. Percy shook his head and replied with "No! Edward and Emily are staying with him to help him calm down, or if he runs off to find you and Gordon!"

"Phew!" sighed Thomas, and he opened the shed, closed the door and quickly and quietly snuck out of the garden, jumping over the wall (it wasn't that high) and running to his friend, giving him a hug as he stopped (the hug was a sign of 'I've missed you' and to stop him from knocking his friend and himself over.

* * *

"How are you, Percy?" asked Thomas. Percy got out of the hug (which was making him feel uncomfortable) and said "Good, Thomas. Since we got out of school, I've been helping my dad. It pays well too, for a 16-year old boy."

Thomas chuckled with his friend. Percy's father worked at one of the post offices in Tidmouth as the postmaster, and Percy would often do the mail run early in the morning around the town on his apple green bicycle, delivering letters and small parcels to homes.

"Come on Thomas, let's get you home. You'll need to rest after running from Tidmouth to here."

"Percy, never have you been more right," said Thomas. "I am tired." He let out a big yawn, and found himself starting to fall asleep.

"Yes, let's go home quickly," said Percy, as Thomas yawned again.

* * *

Meanwhile, Edward and Emily were leaving Henry's house, having succeeded in calming him down. Edward was chuckling to himself. "What's so funny, Mr. Pettigrew?" asked Emily. Edward stopped and looked at her-he was around 5 foot 9.5 inches tall, and she was around 5 foot 7. Thomas didn't seem to be getting any taller.

"Miss Stirling, I'm laughing because I remember when Henry was younger-this was before you were born, by the way. He was nine, and I was looking after him and his half-brother for his mother and step-father, and by this point, Henry had gotten his love of plants and flowers, and you can imagine how angry he was when I accidentally knocked over a vase filled with roses!"

Emily laughed, not as hard as Edward though. She then sighed. "What was it, that made you join the Home Guard?" she asked.

Edward sighed, his face becoming a bit more sombre. "I don't know really. Maybe it was because there'd be a few younger people present, and I thought that by going in and training them, training with them too, they'd be readier for any invasion by the Germans. Or maybe because Thomas wanted to. Come February, he'll be 18, and I really don't want him fighting. Hopefully what I've told him will be enough to dissuade him from doing so."

Emily nodded, equally sobered. She'd known Thomas and Percy for years, and if asked, would say that although they were nearly adults, they were still nine at heart.

* * *

Soon, they were at Tidmouth, and Edward bought their tickets-one to Wellsworth, for himself, and the other for Lower Knapford, for Emily. He left her to sit on the bench and came back from the booth with tickets and some news.

"Percy found Thomas. I can't believe he didn't take a train to Wellsworth, and instead ran all the way there. Gordon was at Maron- he ran too. And our train won't be ready for about another half-hour." Emily nodded again.

"Also, a friend of mine from the Mainland is coming over for the week in July. Can you help me show him around?"

"Did he fight too?" asked Emily, raising an eyebrow. Edward shook his head. "No, he's a pacifist, and he's twenty-nine; he was born in 1911. We met when I was visiting the Mainland a few years ago. He's a bit of a railway enthusiast too."

"Alright, I'll help. Only if he's friendly."

"Oh, he's actually quite friendly. And Thomas and him are good friends too. It's a connection they both have really."

* * *

 **AN: I'm not too sure about this one, but I'm pleased I gave Percy, Edward and Emily a bit of time in the limelight.**

 **And I think we all know who the friend from the Mainland is.**

 **Pacifist, born 1911, railway enthusiast.**

 **Read and review!**


End file.
